Self-locking device for linemen&#39;s body belts



A. N. THOMPSON SELF-LOCKING DEVICE FOR LINEMENS BODY BELTS Filed March 12, 1947 Dec. 13, 1949 Patented Dec. 13, 1949 DEVICE FOR LINE- :3 Claims.

My' 'invention "relates to snap "hooks and more particularly to a safety 'snanhookswl'iichwill 'not accidentally 1 open, but which 'may he readily opened, when desired; by one' hand -of i the 1 user. Al-though the safety -snap hook of my" invention has a=multitnde of uses it -is particularly --well adapte'd for use 'by 1 any 1 person :who I is required to work at a distance above theground, for examplemilineman for ateleph-one, telegraph or electric light arid -po wer company, the hook :bei-ng fas'tened to .a supporting belt I or I strap which, in 1 turn," is--conneotible, by said hook, to -a 'bodybelt worn by the lineman. The supporting belt or strap may,' for=example,encircle a pole 'or a girder.

The lineman normall-y finds support :for his I feeton spikes or blo'cksfi-fon exampla onthe side of f the pole, -and *finds snpport 'to prevent his falling -baokwardl-y or sidewar'dly F by *reason I of the 'body 'belt which 'he-'wears,-- vhich'= belt is connected by a -'-snap' 'hook to the belt tor strap encircling-the pole. I iBy=supporting himself in this fashion 5 the lineman has' free ruse "of l 'both hands I to perform his work. In such I an arrangement, I the I snap -hook: may I be ca-rriedi-by the-supporting strap ewhioh -encircles *the 'pole, and one or I more iD-rings 'for selective connection therewith may be f'aster-redwo the body belt. I Alternatively, the hook may'he'on' tho-bodybelwwhilethe D -ring is carried on the strapor: belt-encircling the pole. Many forms of safetyesnap :hook l have been proposed fo-r' 'the use I mentioned 5 above; and I for other uses, but, to my knowledge, -none'- has been "proposed which provides adequate looking or -safety means' for the 'hoohiwhile wet-permitting 1 the hookto lee-readily: releasable loy'oneihand of the-user. It an object of my invention to provide asafety hook of sueh "construction that When the lineman purposely; intends to release the hook from the-object to w-lilio-h it-is con- I nected; he 'canlido so easiiy and merely by using the thu-mb and a finger of one hand.

Certain I forms of safetyssnap hooks 1 presently 1 in use I have a locking member WhiGh must -he I moved before -the =spri-ng i latoh of the hook "can he 'release'd. However, some or these *looki-ng :members :are: so'formedtthat they may he moved accidentally: tonnlocking: positiom'when the line- :man :presses the :safiet-y "hook zbet-ween his body zand some otheruobiectssnchsasoazttelephone :pole.

.Itis aan robj'ectrof' my-invention? torprovide look- :ing meanswwh-iohsean bearopenedeonly :by movesment of aelocking memherin onezdirectionsand sby movement :or .thei latchoofithessafetyrhoekiin eatziirectionecrosswisetthereto. '-Byssuchazconstruetion,= pressure exertedon? theihook when the'hook is pressed'hetween thelinemarfis 'i-bodyiantlsome other obj ect -will not: cause an inadvertent open- I ing: of the latch arida reIease Qf Lthe 'hQok from -the object: towvhioh 'it is -secure'd. -This resuits i in mu ch :greater safety for the lineman.

:In order that the: hook may' be quioklyueleased, thelocking elementsof 'my invention aresso arranged that a 1 normal cooperating smovemerltaof 10 the thumhan'd -aifingen-suchtaszthezindexiflnger,

or I the line-mans hand acting 'against ttheilatch and ifth-e locking mem-ber twillwromptlytprovide the necessary :oresswise:movementrof the locking meansrand latch with a: minimum: ofiefiort. Re-

lease from the: grip of the fingersandthumb immediately: and;-automatically:returns thelocking -mechanism and the' latch to ltheir docking nor chased positions. I

='It is =-a further objectof 'my invention to pro- I vi'de a safety snap hookawhich -contains fewzelements, said elements being inexpensive-sand simple, whereby: the manufacturingwcost rof the hook is-reduced. -Such hook,' howev er,='is sturdy, and will: stand :a: maximum of: abusennder severe soperating conditions.

It:is:..af:urtherwoblectato provide safety or. look- .ing; mechanism ;ima;safetyssnapxhook; uch that no element thereof will haveeaetendency to sent .01 tearv the clothing ofi'the wonlnnan; or thexzovering; forhishands.

Other-objects, usessand advantages ofrmyinvention will" becomelapparentfrom the following description when taken with the drawings, in Which Figure 1 is anelevational view of the safety snap hook of my invention;

Figurezlis a. plan view ofjthehook. ofFigureil Figure 3 is a View, partiallyin section, taken on theline 343 ..ofIF igurei2,.ofTthe safety snap hook showing the llatch and looking means in closed position;

Figure .43 is v a view similartothat of "Figure "3, but showing the lattzh' in open, or unlocked "position;

Figure 5" is a sectional view, on enlargecrscale,

taken onthe line 5- 5 of'Figure' i Figure "6 is a side elevational"viewofamodification of the safety-snap'hook' of-Figure*1.

The same "reference numerals have been-employed' in 5 the severalwriews to indicate "the-same -'or similar elemen-ts.

Referring: nowtoE'Fi-gures 1 am the drawings, the safety snap hook is lrfd-icated generall-y by ithesreferencernumeral tlleantl compnisesra: shank :55 I2 and bill l4. At the end .ttinratherhook 3m there is a clevis l8 between the arms of which is carried a pin which may have a cylindrical bearing 22. The reference numeral 24 indicates generally a portion of the strap or belt which encircles a, pole. It will be understood, of course, that the belt 24 could, instead, be the body belt worn by the lineman. Belt 2d is secured about the cylindrical bearing 22 and pin 26.

A latch, indicated generally by the reference numeral 26, is formed of sheet metal stamped so as to have a generally U-shaped cross-section, which latch is pivoted at one end to the end l6 of the hook I!) by means of a rivet or by a machine screw 28, as shown, which passes through the shank of the hook. The other end of the latch 26, when in its closed position, engages a seat 36 formed in the end of the bill I4. Flanges 32 and 32' of the latch 26, by passing along opposite sides of the shank l2, serve to guide the movement of the latch when it pivots about the screw 28. A coil spring 34 is interposed between the inner side of the shank 12 of hook l0, and the inner side of the latch 26 and urges said latch into closed position whereby its free end is normally positioned within the seat 36 of the bill M. Spring 36 is maintained in position by a blocking pin 36 which passes through the center of spring 64 and is carried in a passageway 38 in the shank l2 of hook 16. At the lower end of pin 36 there is secured a washer 46 against which the spring 3'1 presses, so that pin 36 will always be directed toward the latch 26. The length of pin 36 is such as to extend from the inner side of latch 26, when the latch is in its closed position, to the outer surface of the shank [2, as shown.

A slide, indicated generally by the reference numeral 44, is formed of a piece of sheet metal, having a generally U-shape cross section, which fits over the shank 12 of hook l6 and has longitudinal movement along said shank within the limits determined by the pins 66 and 48 which fit within slots 56 and 52, respectively, in the slide 44. The pins 66 and 48 are carried by the shank l2 of the hook iii and are retained in position by washers or heads 6 and 54 on pin 46 and heads 56 and 66' on pin 48. A slot 58 is milled out on the outer surface of the shank 12 to a depth and width equal to the diameter of a coil spring 66 which fits therein. The slide 44 covers the slot 66 and spring 66 and carries a projection in the form of a pin 62 which extends into slot 58 and bears against the spring 66. Consequently, spring 6% urges the slide 4 3 longitudinally of the shank i2 in a direction away from end l6 of the hook it. It will be noted that the side walls of slide are recessed, as at as, in order that flanges 32 of the latch 26 will not be obstructed in their movement when the latch is opened in the manner described hereinafter.

It will be further noted that the slide 44 has a struck-up portion 66 which provides a gate or opening 66 for the passage of blocking pin 36 when the slide 46 is retracted against the action of spring 66. It will be appreciated that in place of the struck-up portion 66 merely an aperture might be supplied in the mid portion of slide 44 which aperture, like the struck-up portion 66, normally would not be aligned with pin 36, but might be moved from its normal blocking position to an unblocking position by retraction of the slide against the action of spring 66, so that the blocking pin 36 might pass through said aperture, and thereby permit movement of the latch 26 to open position.

Assuming, for example, that a lineman is wearing a body belt having a D-ring and desires to connect said D-ring with a hook, such as hook H), on a belt or strap encircling a pole, he will grip the hook H] with one hand, placing the thumb, for example, on the latch and his index finger on the struck-up portion 66 of the slide 46 and will, by a natural and easy movement, retract the slide 64 against the action of spring 66 by his index finger, thereby aligning pin 36 with the gate 68 in the slide 44, and will then press the latch 26 toward the shank l2 of hook It! by his thumb, to move the latch to open position whereby the point of the bill 14 may be passed through the D-ring on the body belt. The movements of the slide and the latch take place almost simultaneously, and are readily performed because the action of moving the thumb and index finger toward each other provides a component of force from the index finger in a direction which retracts the slide 65. As soon as the slide is retracted the proper amount, continued pressure on the latch by the thumb moves it and the blocking pin 36 in a direction toward the shank i2 and the slide 66. Alternatively, the latch 26 may be opened by pressing the finger against it while pressing the thumb against the struck-up portion 56 on the slide.

The moment that the latch or the latch and the slide together have pressure removed therefrom, they will immediately and automatically return to locking position wherein the latch 26 seats against the bill it of hook Ill and the slide blocks movement of the pin 36. Since the direction of movement of latch 26 is crosswise with respect to movement of slide 44, pressing the hook between two objects, such as the body of the line man and a telephone pole, will not cause an inadvertent opening of the latch. To open the latch it is necessary first to move the slide longitudinally of the shank l2 and then to move the latch transversely with respect to said shank.

The struck-up portion 66 of slide 44 serves not only to provide means against which the finger of the lineman may press to move said slide, but also serves as a housing for the protruding end of the pin 36 when said pin passes through the gate 68 in slide M. Although such a housing for the end of the pin is not absolutely necessary, it is preferred, since otherwise the pin might have a tendency to tear the gloves of the lineman which serve to insulate him from electrical fixtures with which he is working.

In Figure 6 is shown a modified form of my invention wherein the pin 36 is omitted, and the blocking element is provided in the form of projections 16 on the side walls of the latch 26. With the slide 64 in its locking position, the projections i0 abut against the edges 12 of the slide, and thereby prevent opening of the latch 26. When the slide 44 is retracted against the action of its spring 66, notches M in the sides of the slide 46 align themselves with the projections 16 and permit the lineman to press the latch 26 toward the shank 12 of hook l0, so that the latch may be opened. In this form of safety hook pins 16 and 78 carried by the shank l2 and latch 26, respectively, position the spring 34 which urges the latch 26 away fI'Om shank I2. In order that there may be no catching of the projections 16 in the recesses M of slide 44 when the slide and latch are simultaneously released from the grip of the linemans fingers, the surfaces 86 of the slide and 82 of the projections 16 which engage one another may be slightly cammed to assist the spring 34 in urging the latch shank I2.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a body member comprising a hook, a spring loaded latch for the hook pivoted on the body member, the body member having a transverse bore in substantially the plane of the hook and in register with the latch, a blocking pin guided in said bore and abutting the latch, a slide mounted by a pinand-slot connection on the body for limiting sliding motion endwise thereof, said slide covering the blocking pin and having an outwardly projecting portion serving as a finger hold and providing an internal recess into which said pin may be projected when the recess is brought into register with the pin, said slide having a blocking portion which is adapted to be moved over the blocking pin to block outward movement of the same, and a spring covered by said slide for urging the slide in a direction to move the blocking portion over the pin to prevent opening of the latch, said latch having wings at its sides protecting the pin from a ring engaged by the hook.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the slide is channel shaped in cross section and embraces the back and sides of the body member, the wings of the spring latch embracing the sides of the body 26 away from portion and the edges of the slide having notches into which said wings are projected when the slide uncovers the pin and the latch is depressed.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the end of the pin has a head bearing against the latch between the said wings thereof, and there is a spring surrounding the pin and pressing the head of the pin against the latch to urge the latch to move to closed position and the pin to move out of the recess in the slide.

ALBERT N. THOMPSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 424,637 Anderson Apr. 1, 1890 1,025,666 Yeagle May 7, 1912 1,711,667 Barber et a1. May 7, 1929 2,116,880 Dee May 10, 1938 2,271,335 Geiger Jan. 27, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 337,973 France May 6, 1904 

